obx sandbar living monthly market update

Hello, April!

We’re having a beautiful (and busy!) start to the spring season here on the Outer Banks. Listing activity is picking up, so if you’re thinking of buying, we’ve got a great variety of inventory to choose from — search the latest listings here.

Likewise, if you’re on the fence about selling your property, or just curious about what your property might be worth in today’s market, get in touch with me! I’d love to give you an updated baseline property value and show you how we can make Outer Banks real estate a breeze for YOU!

-Danielle

Sold and Under Contract Analysis

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL:

• YTD residential sales units are up 2% versus YTD 2024 

• YTD residential sales dollars are down 4.7% vs. YTD 2024 

• YTD median sale price is $699,450, down 1% vs. YTD 2024 

• March 2025 residential sales units were down 10% versus March 2024

• Sales units March ‘25 over February ‘25 were up 45%   

  • New listing inventory for March was up 18.3% versus February

• As a comparison, new listings for March ‘25 were up 4% versus March ‘24

• March residential sales volume was up 51% vs. February

• Active listings are up 9% versus February.

• As the market progresses into springtime, we’re seeing slightly reduced sales units, median sold price (and therefore, dollar volume) versus this time last year; however, as we’ll discuss below, the real weakening we’re seeing is in days on market versus last year.

  • For our sellers (or our potential sellers), it’s still a great time to get into the market (spring remains our busiest season for buyer demand so that they can maximize enjoyment and/or income during the peak rental season) — with adjustments to expectations as it relates to days on market. With active listings up 9% month over month (along with a lengthening average days on market overall), buyers are able to be more selective and are taking their time with their decision-making.

  • Buyers continue to be more sensitive to income potential and expenses than recent years so if you’re a potential seller whose property has a healthy rental history, let’s talk about how to use that to your advantage when it comes to positioning your home.

  Now, let's look at month-over-month:

• Median sale price for all Residential property sold in March was $690,000- down 1.4% versus February ‘25. 

• March 2025's median sale price was down 8.6% versus March 2024.     

• March ‘25 vs. March ‘24, residential properties sold 56% slower, and at a 8.6% lower median sales price, We’re also seeing a reduction in cash buyers (down 6.6%) and disclosed multiple offers (down 6.8%) year over year.

  RESIDENTIAL LOTS AND LAND:

• YTD residential land sales units are down 17% versus YTD 2024. 

• YTD residential land sales dollars are down 22% versus YTD 2024. 

• YTD residential land median sold price is $155,000, down 29% versus YTD 2024. 

• March residential land sales units were down 22% compared to March ‘24. 

• March residential land sales units were up 17% versus February ‘25. 

• March residential land sales dollars were down 43% versus March ‘24. 

• March residential land sales dollars were down 17% versus February ‘25.

inventory analysis

• New listing inventory for March 2025 was up 4% versus March 2024 and up 18% versus February’s new listings.

  • Drilling down, 181 new residential listings hit the market in March 2025, with 35.4% of those properties already sold or under contract.

• Average days on market for these is 11; median days on market is 8 (the new, good inventory is still moving fast!).

• Of the properties that have closed, 82% were cash transactions and 36% disclosed multiple offers (disclosure of multiple offers is not required by our MLS).

• See the chart below for the full breakdown by area…

days on market and distressed data analysis

• Average days on market for SOLD residential properties in March was 71, up 6% from February’s average of 67 days. 

  • As demonstrated in our pricing analysis chart below, we’re seeing increased days on market across the board, with the only category remaining relatively flat is the $750K - $1M price range.

• The average home sold 55.8% slower in March 2025 (81 days) versus March 2024 (52 days).   

• The Median days on market in March was 49, meaning that half of the sold units did so in 49 days or less. 

• Year over year, the average DOM for properties sold in 2025 is 74 (up from 53 days YTD 2024), meaning that the average property sold 40% slower than one year ago. 

• Average days on market for all current ACTIVE residential listings is 105 days (down 2.8% versus 108 days in February). 

• Month-over-month, the average days on market for Under Contract properties is 73 days (down 19% from 84 days in February 2025). 

• 35.4% of properties listed in March have already gone under contract or sold with an average days on market of 11. 

• It still rings true that homes that are priced consistent with their condition and/or are located in high demand areas per the chart above are still moving quickly and with multiple offers.

• There were 0 distressed residential listing sold in March 2025 (down from 1 in February 2025 and flat to 0 in March 2024).

• There were 4 distressed active residential listings as of March 31, 2025; up from 3 in February 2025 and 3 in March 2024.

pricing analysis

Residential Median Sale Price for YTD 2025 was $699,950, which was up 4% versus the year prior.

You’ll find a breakdown by price point below:

area data at-a-glance

*Note: Of all Outer Banks towns, Duck has the highest proportion of Co-Ownerships vs. other residential property types. The median price for Duck is skewed due to a disproportionate number of co-ownerships sold; the median price for sold residential properties YTD 2025 excluding Co-Ownerships is $1,300,000.

*All market data presented is courtesy of the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS MLS Single Family Residential, Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2024 and 2025.

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